Thousands of European Hotels are suing booking.com for abuse. They claim that the online travel platform has Disrupted the Market for years with its ‘best price’ sacrifices. The Lawsuit is one of the largest ever in the European Hospitality sector.
The hotels claim that booking.com Put heavy pressure on them to not sacrifice their rooms cheaper anywhere else than on the platform itelf. Not even on their own website. In this way, booking.com Forced Customers to Always Find the Lowest Price via Their Site.
In September or last year, the European Court of Justice Ruled that this ‘best price’ practice is not allowed. After the Introduction of the European Digital Markets Act, Booking.com stopped this practice, but the hotels are now Asking for Compensation.
“European hoteliers have faced unfair conditions and excessive costs for years. It is now time to stand up together for our interests and demand compensation,” says Alexandros Vassilikos, chairman of the European Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés (Hotrec), which represents the sector in the EU and initiates the lawsuit.
Booking.com Called the Statements in an email statement ‘Incorrect and misleading’ and added that it had not recedived ‘formal notification of a class action’.
Many Hotels Still Want to Participate in Lawsuit
HotRec Recently Extended the Deadline for Hotel Owners to JOIN The Case to August 29th. It does this because of the great demand to participate. The Case is one of the largest ever in the European Hospitality sector.
“More than 10,000 hotels have already Joined the Initiative,” Hotrec Writes in A Statement. “They are demanding compensation for financial losses caused by the use of illegal” best price “clauses by booking.com.”